Lansing-based Emergent BioSolutions Grabs $448 Million Contract for Vaccine

Lansing-based Emergent BioSolutions, Inc. recently signed a $448 million three-year contract with the federal government to supply the anthrax vaccination for the country's biodefense stockpile.

According to excerpts from the article:

In a conference call, CEO Fuad El-Hibri said the contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the largest deal in the company's history.

HHS is buying 18.75 million doses of BioThrax (anthrax vaccine adsorbed) - the only FDA-approved vaccine for the prevention of the anthrax infection - for a fixed price of $400 million. The fixed price, El-Hibri noted, means the government is "committed" to purchasing all 18.75 million doses. HHS had specified 18.75 million as the maximum number of doses in the agency's May 2007 request for proposal, he added.

The vaccine, El-Hibri said, will supplement the 10 million doses of the vaccine already included in the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) - a national cache of vaccines, anti-infectives, chemical antidotes and other medical supplies that can be deployed within 12 hours to anywhere in the U.S. or its territories in the event of a disaster.

Emergent BioSolutions' earlier agreements with HHS for the 10 million doses were worth more than $240 million, El-Hibri noted.

If the FDA approves the firm's pending supplement to its biologics license application to extend the shelf life of BioThrax from three years to four years, the company will receive an additional $34 million, El-Hibri said.

Read the entire article here.